AirVenture 2017 Hosts CJP Activities, Hoover Scholars

By Rob Finfrock

The annual AirVenture celebration in Oshkosh, WI provides the welcome chance for CJP Members to congregate, swap flying stories, and share the enjoyment of the world’s foremost gathering for general aviation (GA) pilots.

As during past AirVenture gatherings, CJP Directors Tracy Forrest and Cyrus Sigari hosted an informal “Hospitality Suite” for CJP Members in Camp Scholler. “Every evening, we had at least a dozen people come by to visit, tell lies, and smoke cigars,” quipped Forrest. “To me, Oshkosh has always been a social event where I can see all my friends; there just also happens to be an outstanding airshow going on at the same time.”

On Tuesday evening, the CJP camp hosted the Spirit of Bob Hoover BBQ, where approximately 250 aviation enthusiasts gathered to honor the famed aviator who passed away last year. The informal event included a toast in Hoover’s memory, and speeches and stories from acclaimed airshow performer Sean Tucker, and CJP Member and longtime Hoover friend and pilot Mike Herman. Forrest noted there are plans underway to make the barbecue an annual event, and eventually a formal dinner gathering along the flight line.

CJP also hosted two Hoover Scholarship recipients, Brooke Harrington and Kimberly Martinez, for their first visits to AirVenture. CJP COO and Executive Administrator Cheryl Hardy and her husband, Hugh, hosted the students and transported them to a variety of activities that included helicopter rides, a tour of the Wittman Field control tower, and meeting with fellow aviation enthusiasts and other CJP Members. Kimberly and Brooke detail their experiences here.

The CJP Board of Directors also met for their quarterly meeting at AirVenture, where they finalized plans for the annual CJP Convention in October.